Furnace-charging apparatus.



No. 840,573. PATENTED JAN. 8, 1907.

B. H. MESSITBR.

. FURNACE CHARGING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 7. 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

WITNESSES."

1n: Noyms PETERS cm, wAsnmaroN u c No. 840,573. PATBNT'ED JAN. 8,1907.

B. 11.. MBSSITER.

FURNACE CHARGING APPARATUS.

APPLIUATION FILED FEB. 7. 1905. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J4 WITNESSES: IIVI/EIVTOH rux NORRIS PEYERS cm, WASHINGTON. o. c.

PATENTED JAN. 8, 1907. E. H. MESSITER. FURNACE CHARGING APPARATUS.

APPHGATION FILED FEB. 7. 1905.

m VEn/mk BY 2:, aia

WITNESSES! ATTORNEY THE NORRIS rsrsns cu, wAsnINcroN. n. c

UNI ED STATES PA ENT OFFICE.

EDWIN n. YORK, I

RNACE-OHARGING APPARATUS.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jane, 1907.

hpglieation filed Felinua-r-y .7 19.05- I Serial Nq. 244;.676.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIIN MEssiT-nn, a citizen of the United States, nesiding in the city, county, and State of New York,,,iha=.ve invented a new and use-hi1 Furnace Chargin-g pparatus, of which the tollowing is .a specification.

This invention relates to ,ifiurnace-charging apparatns, and moreespeoially to apparatus for charging copper and lead smelting o;rn-aces, the object of the invention being to provide an apparatus lay means of which :a smelting turnace may be economically charged with the employment of a minimum amomlntoi hand-labor and the charge so supplied to thetnrnaceand so distributed therein that thoroughly satisfactory nesults may be obtained the operation of the iurnace.

With this .end in View the invention comprises means for supplying. .one or more stneams of the charging I-naterial'to the furnace and means tor automaticallydistributing the material to a turnace in the manner best suited to the conditions obtaining at any time in the turnace.

Lnthe accompanying drawings @Ih-aine illustrated one embodiment of the invention,

which will be hereinafter described in detail, it being understood, however, that various changes in the details 01' construction may be madewithontdepanting from the spirit of the invent-ion, the sco e of whichis clearly definedin the appen edclairns,

, In thedrawings, Figure l is a fnaginentary View, inside elevation, of the upper portionof a smelting-furnace of the ordinary rectangular form, provided with charging apparatus constnncted in accord with the present invention, parts .of the furnace structure and the dharging apparatus being broken away to economize space. Fig. 2 is .a fnagrnentary View, partly in ielenati on and partly M1 section, ofthe-structu nes illustrated in 1 Fig. .3 {is a view .side elevation of the preferred torn-1 of mechanism for impanting periodic movement to the distributing devices the iiurnace. Fig. 4 is an elevational View ofthe stnnctirre shown Fig. 3,, taken in ,a plane at right angles to {the plane of Fig. .3, a part of the striiotrune being broken away to show the internal construction. Fig. 5 is .a diagmammatic plan View, a small scale, showing a furnace provided with chargedistri'b iting deyicesoneach side and means for imparting movement in opposite directions to the charge-distributing devices simultaneously.

As is well known to persons skilled the art, the common practice in lead and copper smelting America is to employ turnaces of rectangular cross-section, in which the horizontal dimensions of tions at right angles to each otherane ordinarily in approximately a ratio of one to two or more. It is tor furnaces of thisicharacter that the charging apparatus donning the present invention is primarily designed, and the charging apparatus may be applied to such fiurnaces withont altering except above the changing-floor.

Referring to the drawings, F designates the turnace-shait, and!) designates the charging llloor. The hood of the furnace, thitou-gh which the iuines pass to the flues is designated H, and it extends =upward above the level of the charging-floor. A stack-lime S extends Epwdardly and to the right finoin the turnace- Oneach side of the furnace and above the top of the turnace shafit proper there is a1;- r-ang-ed a track consisting of rails 1 1, asshown in Fig. ,2. Beneath each of these tracks an the furnace indirecthe structume inclined wall 2 extends-fmoin the base of the outer rail of the track to the top of the side wall .3 of the furnace-hood, and the space between the top of each side wall of the hood and the base of the inner rail of the corresponding track is left open, for reasons that will hereinafter appeal. On the rails 1 1 of each of the tracks I provide ,a car 4, provided with suitable flange wheels 5., which rest 'upon the rails, the body of :the car being suspended beneath the axles upon which the wheels are journaled, and on each .car and extending downwardly therefrom is ;a hopper 6,, from the bottom of which an inclined-chute '7 extends into the upper portion of the int-- nace. The bottom ofieach chute 7 liessllth stantially parallel with the adjacent inclined wall 2, and the lower end of each chute projects inwardly a short distance beyond the side wall :3 of the furnace.

Piwotally mounted on trunnions midway between the axles of each car is a tapering conduit or chute 8, which is pineierahly of seetangularrcross-section. Theconduitorchnte 8 has its lower end disposed above the ho.

per 6, which is sufliciently wide to receive 1, e material passing through the-conduit QIiC-hlhtl in whatever position it may, occupy.- The upper end. ofeach conduit orchute is considerably wider than its lower end, andit meceives the lower .end of a stationary spout -9,

as best shown in Fig. 1. Each spout 9 is preferably provided near its lower end with a pair of rollers 10, mounted on opposite sides thereof and supported in any suitable manner, as by brackets 11. The rollers 10 engage guide-strips 12, placed at the margins of slots 13, formed in the sides of the chutes or conduits 8, and, as will presently appear, the rollers permit the oscillatory movement of the said chutes or conduits about the lower ends of the spouts 9.

As shown in Fig. 1, the rails 1 1, that form the tracks at the sides of the furnace-shaft, extend outwardly beyond the end walls of the furnace to a considerable distance, and at each end of each car 4 I provide a coverplate 14, which is sufficiently long to form, with the car, a cover for the open space above each of the inclined walls. The cover-plates 14' are preferably provided with suitable rollers 15, which rest upon the rails 1 1 and support the plates in proper position.

In order that the two cars 4 4 may move in unison and also in order that the chutes 7 may be properly braced, I preferably provide connecting-rods 16, extending transversely of the furnace between the two chutes to which they are secured. Each chute, therefore, is securely connected with the other, and each serves as a brace for the other.

In the operation of the apparatus de scribed in the foregoing the furnace-charging material is supplied through the stationary spouts 9, which, as shown in Fig. 2, converge overthe furnace-hood H and are connected witha hopper 17, into which material is continuously deposited by any suitable conveyer apparatussuch, for example, as a belt conveyer. The material flowing into the hopper 17 is divided into two streams which descend through the spouts 9 and pass into the open upper ends of the chutes or conduits 8, through which they pass to the hoppers 6 and thence through the inclined chutes 7 into the furnace.

If the inclined chutes 7 were allowed to remain stationary, the material passing throu h them into the furnace would not be properly distributed, and in order to insure proper distribution of the charging material in the furnace reciprocatory movement is imparted to the cars.4, from which the chutes 7 are suspended. For imparting this reciprocatory movement I preferably make use of the apparatus now to be described, by means of which I am able to produce at will a reciprocatory movement of the cars at uniform speed throughout the entire length of the furnace or to produce a reciprocatory movement which is more rapid adjacent to one end or to the other, as may be desired.

As is well known, it is a desideratum inlead and copper smelting to keep the top of the charge in the furnace tolerably level and cool, and as the rate at which the charge descends in different parts of the furnace-shaft may vary, owing to various conditions, it is necessary for proper mechanical feeding of the charge to the furnace to provide means for feeding the charging material more rapidly sometimes at some points than at others. It is also desirable to provide for the distribution of the fine and coarse particles of the charge in certain relative proportions in different parts of the furnace, the most commonly-used plan of distribution being to deposit the greater portion of the fine con.- stituents of the charge near the side walls and the greater portion of the coarse constituents near the median line. The desired conditions mentioned, including the variation of the rate of feed to different parts of the furnace and the relative distribution of the coarse and fine particles of the charge, are obtained by the apparatus forming the present invention. The inclined chutes 7 effect the deposit of the fine particles near the sides of the furnace and the coarse particles or lumps near the median line, as will be readily seen. The fine particles naturally slip more slowly along the bottom of the chute than the coarser particles, and consequently they pass out of the chute with less velocity and fall more directly downward, while the coarser particles rolling freely down the chute are carried farther from the side walls of the furnace and are for the most part deposited near the middle of the furnace.

The apparatus for imparting reciprocatory movement to the cars 4 and for producing correspondingly oscillatory movement of the conduits 8 is shown on a small scale in Fig. 1 and on a larger scale in Figs. 3 and 4. Referring to the latter figures, 18 designates a framework which is arranged vertically and which may be at any suitable distance from the furnace. In this framework the main shaft 19 is j ournaled in suitable bearings 20, and a heart-cam of peculiar form is fastened upon the shaft. Rotary movement at slow speed is imparted to the shaft by a worm 22, driven in any suitable manner, and a wormgear 23, with which the worm 22 meshes. The cam 21 is considerably larger at one end than the other, as clearly shown in the drawings, and about midway between the ends its circumference .is of the exact form required to impart reciprocatory movement at uniform speed tothe member actuated thereby. Arranged for reciprocatory movement in the frame 18, above the cam21, is a smaller frame 24, provided at its sides with suitable projections 25, which engage with corres1')onding guides in the frame 18 and insure the vertical reciprocation of the frame 24. At the bottom the frame 24 is provided with a pair of parallel threaded shafts 26, each of which is provided at one end with a sprocket-wheel 27, the two sprocket-wheels being connected by an endless chain 28, running over them nespiemdiing metatioml is iimipamted to the ether Mezlmmited en a pair of tihmeaded blacks 3:0, :ame eaz'nnied hy-the shafts r216, is a ideiwanwamdilyeeumed yoke :31, the mid I die ief \iihlildh: is mtataibiy mounted :a noiier 3-2., which is engaged by the mm .21. 0.1m a shaft 323., ieaimied by the fmame .24., these .eme

meflmted e phimiliity (02f 34., the

her being adapted te at e, emoumrt [of movemiemit to be IEHZQdiUlQBd the ears 4L end he the size ert the em 21... K101i the shatt :3 5 the i of the ifmme MS :a ceiimespendiiimg Lemer paint member eif pwlleys 36 .evnememted, the

355 being pmeifiemeflely disposed in e. wemticai pileime et a slight angle to the plane of the shaft 33..

amemmidre giuide-spiii ley 13:9 to t me braimehes,

eaieh ettedhed to theehd eif emie of the lees-fer; plates 14., merited eheieif'the eams 4-.. Te the end of the ieithierieemeir -pltaite M ,,eamr1edby each -0i'f the eels L, is attached ease end eff e- 41 end e \fifiul i itwwalghi 4*2 suspended at the ifmeeemdeif the eafble,

By umpemtrmg movement ate. the worm 122 a.

stow metetieh Wilt be (imputed t thewerm to the main 19., end he} the cam 2A.. This mememenit of the exam ief eemutse pmeidwee vertieail reeipmeetei y mememernt of i the ifmme :24 its guides, end if the yeke 3: be see edjiisted by means If the threaded shafts 26 as to bring zeh e .TiQU-Qr 32 e lPQSjF time midway between the ends e-f the cam 2 he heme 2141 limo-we with midterm thmeugheut its entiremowemeimt; and the miss 4 wiilitlaewe-liet iuiniifiermsspeedto elm-dime eieiig the tnaieks fiat the sides (@if the iiumaee. As-

tih e .chamg mg materiel is supplied to the ih- 'QP? per 1 0 fmmnee whene it 1s needed. T ibiinlg 8336mm this =nesiiult,

if it is desimed to supply more materiel need A cmemlk 29 upon one t0 iim pemt retention- .desiiied, end threuightlhe me paiIti-mg Y Qwerthepulleys 3t and 3:6 v a eieihiie 37 is move, emie elm-id ef the eehile being i wttaiehed to the frame 25., es by ev staipile 38., and the ether end (01 the leaibiie hem-g eairriied ai e maidemm mate, the idistriibmit ien e f the charging material in the furnace WiliM (6119' pend seil-ehy ii peiithe mite 10f movement of the 1 It, however; the ichamge. sinks meme ma pidiy nesmeieeend 051 the ifium= niece than hear the ethem, it be idesimbie te' mediiify themte ef tm-welet the ears to paid I .duiee mote maipid movement meam' ohe end of he .fiuimaiee end slemermesnememt new 'meiie (9f the ehargimg meterieite $13.6(dPQSithfldnaeair'm fi mdfif'iflhie. time tu'meee 2% that the thmeaded shaifiiss 26 mis y he tuumed to hating the eke 3i and rmeililer .32 Iiesmerte the smaili elaidezf the cam 21, while time other end ef the f'umaee the nether 32'mey be shifted the cam.

in fiumeiees We :a mmfierm'zfieed in :all perms et the twimaiee isdesi'ned .et ah times;,..a s in tuimsees eif eempianativelysmaili dime siions, the ermngemeht ef the devices tea im- MQWQI' FHQ Q-It to. the (laws .dia gwe mmat ieeiilyiiikustmted in Fig; (Sn-may he employed In that View the ieab ies td at the emdseif'the cams we replaced- ;e eezbiie 419 idenmeetiimg the twe ieains filmed ;peseiing iamoiund giuideepuh l -eys tilt, and instead en haying both. ears denrieeted with :a meei preeazti mgmeehazmiism e ealble :3? extends dimeetly time-n the T QQhPliQ eating medlmmsm to use let the eams, and ye eem nterweig ht 4:25 is ieeimeeted with the other ear by memes of 5a, 03 21 1 49 43;, which passes over a suitable guide-pulley 44.

From the ,fieiiegeiiil g description and the ewiangs iiilfliustmtiwie theneeif it will :be meadifly seem that by meenseif the ifeediimg eppemtus terminug the neseint iilMQIfllf ifill it is met (only pessiibilie to efiect the shaming 05f. ibllast fimir niaees witheuut the employment elf maimed labor te eoamsideiiaibale extent, but the fieedim g eibteizeaibilie meehainzieai meams is susceptible of regulation to meet Wnyimig eemiditiolis, midmuch greater eentiaiimty Sin the iieediing ea mibe ebteinied than with hand Laibeir, .sus it is pessijbie to eliminate ettegeatiher the nameertainties Whieh wild exist Where the auadgment and eemiseienitielismess of the weirkmem awe iimpeiiteimit :faeztoazs' in the prediietieii ef the While I have dieseriibied, a single. emihedi ment of my imnerntiere eniy, 'Wiflll he iieaidiily ,wIladeIEstQQd that Mairiees changes thiene im may e Me by the exeneise est the iemdinel y me ICO skiilll ef peeseias skilled them-t, fwd

I: do not themefeme iimiit myself to the actualstm'etusne disclesed, bait meseme the right 111:0 make-ehainges theneiim within theseepe ef the SQIMPXQHQLEd'iCi Q WfS Having 2 01911948 ides-erihed my inve ntien, What I claim as new, and desire to secume-hy Let 5 WES Patent, Vis

5L. tumeeeechaigiing :epim etus, the 00mm bi etieinwith I'I IiGaAHSf-Q'I supplying and main taian izng :a stream ef iehergingmsteriefl, e f idefleeting (devices periedie meveilmiemt in e single vemti-eel plL-ene fl er idefleeting {rib/e .stiieamtef ehamgin g-imetezriel to idiifieazent of the tumeee.

:2. 1:11 iliumaieeqcbemgihg e p pametusthe 60111- himwtiein' with means item-supplying iciherigimg matemiall elf means ifzeaiaiutemaibieaiilyefifiectimg the idiisibliihamtiem of the idjitfiement iameuaaits of maitetiail wiilil a (e supplied to diifiemeimt pentiems of the .fiumniaieei 3.7.1 11 ifiumaeesehawgiimg zeppeiretus, the mm? bimation with means temssup flying; material, of meteriailqdistriguting deviiees,

(charging material i &

and means for imparting periodic movements to said distributing devices in a single vertical plane. I

4. In furnace-charging apparatus, the combination with means for supplying charging material, of means for mechanically controlling the distribution of charging material to different parts of the furnace so that different amounts of material are automatically supplied to different parts of the furnace.

5. In furnace-charging apparatus, the combination with means for supplying a stream of charging material, of means for shifting the point of delivery of said stream of charging material, and means for automatically controlling the movement of said point of delivery so that unequal amounts of material will be delivered to different parts of the furnace. r

6. In furnace-charging apparatus, the combination with means for maintaining a flow of charging material to the furnace, of means for deflecting the flow of material to different parts of the furnace'and automatic devices whereby the movements of said deflecting means may be controlled so as to effect the delivery of unequal amounts of material to different parts of the furnace.

7. In furnace-charging apparatus, the combination with means for supplying charging v material, ofareceptacle to receive the supply of charging material, and distributing devices beneath said receptacle arranged for periodic movement in a single vertical plane, whereby a stream of material from said receptacle to the 'furnaceis maintained and its direction periodically changed.

7 8. In furnace-charging apparatus, the combination with a furnace having a shifting charging-opening, of means for maintaining.

a flow of charging material through said opening, and means for automatically 0on trolling the rate of shifting of said chargingopening, so that unequal amounts of charging material will be supplied to different parts of the furnace.

9. The combination with a smelting-furnace having an elongated charging-opening, of a distributer for charging material arranged to discharge through said opening and having a reciprocatory movement lengthwise of said opening, of a chute or conduit leading to said distributer and having its lower end secured thereto, the upper end-of said chute or conduit being arranged to receive material discharged at a fixed point.

,1'0. The combination with a smelting-furnace having an elongated chargingeopening of material-distributing devices comprising a carriage external to the furnace and arranged for reciprocatory movement lengthwise of said charging-opening and an inclined chute extending downwardly from said carriage and through said charging-opening shields at both ends of said carriage and of sufficient length to keep said charging-opening closed in any position of said carriage, means for supplying a stream of charging material and means for deflecting said stream of charging material from a fixed point to said carriage during the reciprocatory movement of said carriage and directing said stream of material into said inclined chute.

11. The combination with. a smelting-furnace having a charging-opening on each side near the top, of a pair of material-distributers arranged for reciprocatory movement at the sides of said furnace, so as to effect the dclivery of material into the interior of said furnace, a material-receiving hopper above said furnace having divergent dischargechutes, and means for directing the streams of material from said discharge-chutes to said distributers during the reciprocatory movement of said distributers.

12. The combination with a smelting-fun nace having an opening at the top thereof,of a hopper arranged for horizontal travel with respect to said opening, an oscillatory chute pivotally connected at its lower end with said hopper so as to discharge thereinto, means for moving said hopper to and fro with re spect to said opening, and means at the top of said chute for discharging material thereinto.

13. The combination with a smelting-furnace of a fixed hopper, a traveling hopper at a lower level than the fixed hopper and having a chute leading to the furnace, and a chute pivoted at its lower end on the traveling hopper and having its upper end supported by suitable guiding devices so that inaterial passing from the fixed hopper will pass into the last-named chute when the traveling hopper is in any position.

14. The combination in charging apparatus for a smelting-furnace, of a movable distributer for charging material and mechanism for imparting reciprocatory movement to said distributer, said mechanism comprising a heart-cam and a member engaging the surface of said cam and connected with said distributer.

15. The combination in charging appara tus for a smeltin -furnace of a movable distributer and medhanism for imparting periodic movement to said distributer, said mech- "anism comprising a heart-cam, a traveling structure moving in guides and having a part in contact with said cam, and connections between said structure and said distributer.

16. The combination in charging apparatus for a smelting-furnace of a movable distributer for the charging material and mechanism for imparting periodic motions to said distributer and comprising a heart-cam tapering from one end to the other and of the exact contour intermediate of its ends to impart uniform reciprocatory movement to a member engaging the cam, a traveling structure to which motion is imparted by the rellC ' the charging material and mechanism for im tation of said cam, a roller carried by said traveling structure and engaged by said cam, said roller being adjustable between the ends of the cam. 17. The combination in charging apparatus for a smelting-furnace of a distributer for ceiving-hopper into which saidconveyer delivers, a distributer arranged for reciprocatory movement ad'acent to said furnace so as to deliver material thereinto throughout its l movement and shiftable members for con- J ducting the material delivered from said receiving-hopper to said distributer during the movement of said distributer.

parting periodic movement to said distributer, said mechanism comprising a cam and a structure to Which reciprocatory movement is imparted by said cam, a pulley mounted on a fixed axis, and a pulley carried by said structure, and a cable rove over said pulleys and connected With said distributer.

'18. The combination in furnace-charging in presence of two Witnesses.

EDWIN H. MESSITER.

BAXTER MORTON,

Witnesses RosooE L. PETERSON.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature 7 apparatus of an endless conveyer, a fixed re- 

